Y’all, have I got a recipe for you! This Cherry Chocolate Espresso Cake will make you weep. I have adapted it from a Lauren Kelp recipe. It takes effort, I won’t lie. It has a lot of steps, but in the end you will be lost in a sea of chocolate espresso bliss, whispering, “Thank you, Kathy, thank you!”

For Your Cake:
Preheat your oven to 350. Grease and flour three 8-inch cake pans. In a small saucepan, slowly melt your dark chocolate on medium low heat and set aside.
In a small pot, bring your water to boil and stir in the instant espresso. Pour in your melted chocolate and whisk until completely combined. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. In your mixer, whip your butter until fluffy. Add in your sugar, vanilla and eggs. Beat until combined.
Add in your espresso/chocolate mixture to your mixer and combine.

Bring your flour mixture over and slowly add it to your batter. I like to do mine cup by cup on low speed until smooth.

Measure out 4 cups of batter for each pan. Drop your filled cake pans on the counter a few times before placing in the oven to pop any bubbles inside the batter. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Cool on a cake rack.

Icing:
In your mixer, whisk your egg whites and sugar into a meringue. This takes about 7-10 minutes. Slowly add in the cubed butter a few cubes at a time. Once smooth, add in your vanilla and melted chocolate. Whip until smooth. You will know it’s ready when you can lift the head of your mixer and the icing sticks to the attachment.

Thank you for writing this! This will be our first Christmas without our mother (she died this August). It has been hard for me with my own depression because I'm that same way. I'll dance through the responsibilities and then WHAM the sadness settles over me like a dark cloud.